Wi-Fi standards continually evolve from legacy protocols such as IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b and IEEE 802.11g to newer protocols such as IEEE 802.11n and IEEE 802.11 ac. To this end, wireless stations leveraging newer protocols are able to receive better network performance due to higher throughput and other improved conditions.
Problematically, access points serving a heterogeneous mix of legacy wireless stations and newer wireless stations are slowed down by the legacy devices. To overcome this issue, many wireless vendors implemented airtime fairness in a vendor-specific manner for clients. One common technique is to allocate a time slot, or a quantum (measured in micro seconds), to for channel access to each wireless station. The quantum is typically equal and constant for each client, allowing faster clients to have higher throughput within the quantum. On the other hand, there is no discrimination between different wireless stations.
Therefore, what is needed is a robust technique for extending airtime fairness in WLANS with selective dynamic allocation of quantum. Allocations can be based on, for example, applications in use, location, and roles and privileges.